Tyce Armstrong Makes NCAA History with Three Grand Slams, Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
WACO, Texas - Baylor’s Opening Day win wasn’t just a strong start to the season - it was a historic night that put redshirt senior Tyce Armstrong in the NCAA record books and earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
Armstrong, a first baseman from Magnolia, Texas, did something only one other player in NCAA history has ever done: he hit three grand slams in a single game. That’s not a typo.
Three. Grand.
Slams.
It happened Friday night in Baylor’s 15-2 run-rule victory over New Mexico State, and it wasn’t just a power display - it was a rewriting of the Bears’ record book. Armstrong tied the program record with three home runs in a game and shattered the previous RBI mark with 12 runs driven in, surpassing the 11 RBIs Shea Langeliers posted back in 2019.
To put it in perspective: no player in Major League Baseball history has ever hit three grand slams in one game. Not one.
And only once has a single MLB team done it - the Yankees pulled it off in 2011 against Oakland. In college ball, Armstrong now joins Louisville’s Jim LaFountain as the only players to accomplish the feat.
LaFountain did it in 1976, with four homers and 14 RBIs in a game that included two grand slams in the same inning.
Armstrong didn’t stop after Friday. Over the course of the weekend, he hit .300 and added two more RBI opportunities with the bases loaded - one on a sacrifice fly, the other when he was hit by a pitch. By the end of Opening Weekend, he had 14 RBIs, the most in the nation.
Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson had high praise for his veteran slugger after the game.
“He’s got power, he brings experience and he’s such a great kid,” Thompson said. “He works hard, he’s a good mentor to the young guys, and then to have that kind of a day - it’s fantastic.
It sure was nice to see those three balls get out of here. It was fun to watch.”
This marks the third straight season Baylor has picked up a Big 12 weekly honor following Opening Weekend. Armstrong now joins recent award winners Ethan Calder (Co-Pitcher, 2025) and Mason Marriott (Pitcher, 2024) in that early-season spotlight.
It’s also the sixth weekly conference award for Baylor under Thompson and the 19th time a Bear has earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors in program history.
Joining Armstrong in the Big 12’s Opening Weekend accolades were Kansas State’s Dee Kennedy (Player of the Week) and TCU’s Noah Franco (Pitcher of the Week).
For Baylor, Armstrong’s performance wasn’t just a statement - it was a thunderous reminder that college baseball’s long ball is alive and well in Waco. And if his Opening Weekend is any indication, the Bears might have a serious power threat anchoring their lineup all season long.